Some products are accommodated in a container and the container is then packed in a package. Some other products and directly packed in a package. The package can be a box shaped container.
Japanese Utility-Model Laid-Open Publication No. H6-54565 discloses a packaging box for packing precision parts exemplified by photosensitive drums image forming apparatuses. This packaging box includes a cushion material that protects the photosensitive drum from shocks and a box to accommodate the photosensitive drum protected by the cushion material.
Japanese Utility-Model No. 3037358 discloses a tray container for packing food products such as cakes. This tray container includes a bottom member and an openable-closable member that is partially connected to the bottom member and that can be opened and closed as required.
Furthermore, Japanese Utility-Model No. 3086100 discloses a technology to pack posters and/or drawings. The posters and/or drawings are rolled and packed in a triangular-corrugated-cardboard case.
A technique for packing powdery products such as toner is shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B. A container 140a for the powdery product is accommodated in a corrugated cardboard box having a rectangular-parallelepiped shape (not shown) together with a cushion material (not shown). The container 140a is attached to a proper place in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.
The container 140a includes a shrinkable container body 141, a funnel-shaped shoulder portion 142 provided on one side (in the drawing, the lower side) of the container body 141, and a neck portion 143 with a toner supply valve provided at a tip (in this case, a lower end) of the shoulder portion 142. These container body 141 and shoulder portion 142 are both made of a shrinkable material (for example, polyvinyl), and the neck portion 143 is made of a hard material (for example, polyethylene terephthalate). Here, 144 denotes a reinforcing plate for reinforcing the container body 141 and having finger holes 145 to prevent the container from falling when a user shakes the container to mix the toner.
FIGS. 15A to 15C are for explaining how the container 140a is attached to a copying machine. FIG. 15D is for explaining the recycling of toner.
The user opens a door 151 for toner change provided on a copying machine 150 (FIG. 15A) to remove a vacant container 140b (refer to FIG. 14B) from a toner housing portion 152 integrally formed with the door 151 (FIG. 15B), and then inserts the container 140a filled with toner in the toner housing portion 152 of the door 151 (FIG. 15C).
The container 140b removed from-the copying machine 150 is collected from the user, transported by a transport vehicle 153 to a factory 154, and is then filled with toner at the factory 154. The container 140a filled with toner is then transported by the transport vehicle 153 from the factor 154 to users via distributors and the like for sale. That is, the container 140b is recyclable.
FIG. 16 is a section view of the copying machine along the XVI-XVI line shown in FIG. 15C. The toner housing portion 152 integrally formed with the door 151 can rotate about a shaft 160. The toner portion housing portion 152 is provided at its bottom with a funnel-shaped protective member 161 for preventing the container 140a (refer to FIG. 15C) from compression buckling when inserted with the neck portion at bottom. At the bottom of the protective member, a suction mechanism 162 is provided to fit in the neck portion 143 of the container 140a to suck the toner from the toner supply valve.
FIG. 17 is for explaining how the copying machine acquires the toner from the container. A toner 170 in the container 140a is sucked via the neck portion 143, the suction mechanism 162, and then a piping 171 to a pump 172. The toner 170 sucked by the pump 172 is then supplied to a photosensitive member (not shown) of the copying machine.
The conventional packaging box has eight major problems apart from various minor problems. The eight major problems are:                1. While the container body is made of a shrinkable and flexible material, the neck portion is made of a hard material, so that, when the container is carried in the packaging box having a rectangular-parallelepiped shape with the neck portion at bottom, compressive buckling of the neck portion occurs, thereby causing a failure when the container is inserted in an image forming apparatus body.        2. The container is an automatic volume-reduction container to be decompressed (sucked) by a pump when inserted in an image forming apparatus. The container expands or shrinks depending on atmospheric pressure and temperature. When the container expands, the wall portion of the packaging box presses the container, thereby making it difficult to extract the container from the packaging box.        3. When the container shrinks due to sucking by the pump, the container gets wrinkled, and some toner remains in the wrinkles.        4. To prevent compressive buckling of the container, a cushion material, such as Styrofoam, is required in the packaging box. Therefore, the cost of such a cushion material and the cost of disposal of the cushion material are incurred.        5. A dead space interferes with efficient transportation and storage of the packaging box.        6. With a rectangular-parallelepiped shape, the packaging box can be arbitrary placed. Therefore, to change the container, the user may have to reverse the container to see descriptions of a container-changing procedure shown on the container. This inhibits a smooth change of the container.        7. Since the packaging box has a rectangular-parallelepiped shape, when a longitudinal direction of the packaging box is oriented in a vertical direction, the neck portion of the container may be oriented downward. In this case, the toner may solidify under its own weight in the container.        8. The packaging box may be deformed to be open due to expansion of the container caused by a drop in barometric pressure when transported by air, exported to a highland (for example, the United Mexican States), or the like.        